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Elementary Dictionary
       

ab·stract

abstract

 
 
pronunciation:
aeb straekt [or] b straekt
features:
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part of speech: adjective
definition 1: When something is abstract, it doesn't have any physical form. Feelings and ideas are abstract things. They are things, but you can't see them or touch them or even smell them! They exist in people's minds only.
Love and beauty and truth are abstract things.
antonyms:
concrete
definition 2: When something is abstract, it is hard to understand because it is very difficult to imagine.
Some ideas in mathematics are too abstract for young children to understand. Teachers wait until they are older to teach these things. Some ideas are too abstract for many adults to understand too.
antonyms:
clear, simple
similar words:
difficult
definition 3: When a painting or sculpture is abstract, you can't tell what it is. It has shapes and maybe color, but it's not a clear picture of anything. The artist may be trying to suggest a feeling or idea or maybe even people and things, but the artist is not trying to show those people and things as they are in reality.
Mr. Jones doesn't like abstract art. He likes to see art that shows real things that he can recognize.
derivations: abstractly (adv.), abstractness (n.)
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